"True Caribbean Pirates"
on the History Channel

I am very proud to have been interviewed for the documentary "True Caribbean
Pirates", scheduled to air on the History Channel on July 9th, 2006.

I've yet to see the finished product yet, but I have read the final script
and have been very impressed by the man behind this project, Tim Prokop.
When I met Tim for the interview, I was very impressed by the depth of knowledge
he had accrued on the subject of Piracy and it's impact on world history.
I can't help but think he'll do whatever he can to make sure this project comes
out right.

Click below to watch the official trailers from
the show:

15 Second CommercialFile Size: 800kb

Movie Theater CommercialFile Size: 1500kb

Here is the show's Official Press release:

Until
the recent attack on a cruise ship off the coast
of Somalia, pirates terrorizing the high seas
have been mostly the stuff of legend and
Hollywood fantasy. But piracy, particularly in
the Caribbean, was at one time a very real and
dangerous problem. Men with names such as
Blackbeard, Calico Jack, and Black Bart pillaged
and plundered ships and seaport towns, offering
violent retribution to those who resisted and
seizing fortunes at will. Viewers get to know
the real characters, fight the battles they
fought, watch nations rise up to stop them, and
separate fact from fiction in the world premiere
TRUE CARIBBEAN PIRATES on Sunday, July 9th, 2006
at 8pm/7c on The History Channel.

After Christopher Columbus landed in the West
Indies in 1492, Spain and its powerful navy
established a dominating presence in the region.
Vast riches in gold and silver were mined in the New
World—wealth that soon drew the attention of
England, France, and Holland. The Caribbean
would become a free-for-all as these competing
nations advocated "privateering," basically the use
of freelancing private sailors to fight battles,
disrupt trade, and harass the Spanish—all in an
effort to establish a presence in the Caribbean
without having to pay for a real navy there.

The temptation of Spanish treasure stretched the
thin line between privateer and pirate to a breaking
point. One of the most famous privateers
to cross into piracy is Sir Henry Morgan.
Tapped by the British Governor of Jamaica to command
more than 1,500 buccaneers, he responded by becoming
one of the first true great pirates, leading daring
attacks and conquests of Spanish colonies at
Portobello and Panama and gaining a reputation for
brutal acts such as hanging men by their genitals to
get them to give up their possessions.

The cycle of privateers and quasi-legal pirates
continued for decades, until an extraordinary event
changed everything in the Caribbean. Peace.
Suddenly, tens of thousands of privateers and
sailors were out of a job, and thus began the age of
the outlaw pirates. TRUE CARIBBEAN PIRATES
follows the lineage of maritime crime from Morgan to
Calico Jack, and even on to female pirates such as
Anne Bonny and Mary Read, who were far more
sensational, and every bit as dangerous, as their
male counterparts.

Using the historians’ input, dramatization,
animation, expert interviews, and archival imagery,
and filmed in historic locations, TRUE CARIBBEAN
PIRATES is the true story of piracy's Golden Age.

Highlights of TRUE CARIBBEAN PIRATES include:

Tale after tale of pirate lore that brings
to life their unique reality—a brazen
flouting of almost every societal rule,
disrespect for governmental authority, and
unmatched thirst for adventure and
brutality, all motivated by a true desire to
be free and live their way, and only their
way.

Understanding the pirates’ true motives and
methodology for plying their trade, and
dispelling time-honored myths such as those
of treasure maps and buried booty.

The pirates’ unique ability to intimidate
their targets into surrender, practiced
uniquely by Blackbeard, who would tuck
burning lengths of rope (called "slow
match") beneath his hat to create a cloud of
smoke that observers swear made him look
like Satan himself.

Blackbeard’s blockade and hostage crisis at Charlestowne, South Carolina, which sent
ripples of pirate fear through the colonies
and helped to galvanize support to take the
pirates down, once and for all.

The establishment of all-pirate playground
at Nassau, Bahamas, the city which became
the home to seafaring outlaws after they’d
been cast out of other areas.

The emergence of the unique and legendary
Black Bart Roberts, the last of the great
pirates and an anomaly in his own world…
refusing to drink alcohol and conducting
religious services aboard his vessel, and
then hanging an Island Governor from the
yardarm of his own ship.

The brutal exploits of female pirates
Anne Bonny and Mary Read, and their
promiscuous liaisons aboard the ship
captained by Calico Jack Rackham.

Some images from the show:

Executive Producer for The History Channel is Carl H. Lindahl

TRUE CARIBBEAN PIRATES is produced for The History Channel by GRB Entertainment